Thank you very much, Deputy Llywydd. I'd like to thank everyone who's taken part in the debate this afternoon on such a vitally important topic. Childhood and adolescent mental health services have been severely stretched for many years, but the problems have been compounded by the pandemic, which has been widely referred to during today's debate, both in terms of waiting times, but also in terms of increasing the numbers needing support. Barnardo's Cymru staff are reporting there has been an increase in mental health and well-being issues amongst the children and young people they work with. As a member of the health committee, I was able to take evidence from witnesses on the state of mental health services during our inquiry into waiting times. We heard from the Royal College of Psychiatrists, amongst others, who highlighted how mental health services were struggling well before the pandemic. They said that waits and barriers to access would be unacceptable in any other area of medicine. And we heard from stakeholders the very real costs of these waits, as delays in treatments have significant consequences for young people, not only intensifying their suffering, but often leading to more complex needs and increasing treatment costs. We are forcing more young people into mental health crisis because of our lack of early intervention.

The fact that half of young people receive an assessment within 28 days of referral should be a matter of national shame, particularly when we have been aware of the issues facing CAMHS for many years. It is past time we had an urgent review of CAMHS provision in Wales, as James Evans outlined in opening the debate. He was very brave to stand up and talk about some of his personal—